Netflix is under pressure to land a Beyonce-NFL event right after the Paul-Tyson fight
Move over, Santa Claus: Beyoncé will be appearing in homes this Christmas as part of Netflix's latest foray into the world of live sports.
The giant announced that Queen Bey will perform at halftime of the NFL Christmas Day game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans in her hometown of Houston.
The announcement comes two days after Netflix's live broadcast of the boxing event between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul was plagued by technical difficulties.
Experts say that as live streaming companies continue to enter the world of live sporting events, finding a way to successfully broadcast them will be key to growing their subscriber base.
Technical difficulties 'lack of foresight'
According to the Downdetector website, about 85,000 viewers ran into problems with the blackout or streaming leading to a massive battle. Many users took to social media to vent their frustration.
Netflix is having nothing but technical issues tonight. The microphone doesn't work, the hosts can't hear each other, and now the broadcast is delayed
The struggles may be due to a “lack of foresight” on Netflix's part, according to Michael Naraine, an associate professor of sports management at Brock University.
Naraine said that Netflix knows the number of users who will listen to the release of a game like this Stranger Thingsabout user behavior and data collection, and can adjust accordingly. But since Netflix's involvement with live events is so recent, the company “didn't expect 60 million people to watch.”
“It is possible that they were also naive to think that their current platform could hold 60 million people from all over the world watching in one place at a time,” he added.
Naraine said that due to “lack of foresight or naiveté … you end up in a situation where people have problems.”
Despite the difficulty, Netflix reported that 60 million households watched the Paul-Tyson fight, with a peak of 65 million streams.
It's an important take by Netflix, a company that continues to enter the world of live sports.
If they don't get their “act together … this could be a problem because sports is a growth path for Netflix going forward and, arguably, for all streaming platforms going forward,” Naraine said.
Netflix did not respond to CBC News' request for comment prior to publication of this episode.
Live sports represent the way to 'grow into the future'
Earlier this year, Netflix announced a deal worth more than R6.7 billion ($5 billion) that will make it the exclusive home of World Wrestling Entertainment's. Green from January 2025 onwards.
New Amazon Prime Video National Hockey League streaming Prime on Monday Night Hockey – The league's first exclusive national broadcast package with a digital-only streaming service in Canada – premiered last month.
Amazon Prime Video also works with the NHL in other ways.
Last month, the platform went live FACEOFF: Inside the NHL, a docuseries following some of the league's biggest stars at different stages of their careers.
“It's the behind-the-scenes stuff that I think is so smart and popular,” said David Hardisty, associate professor of marketing and behavioral science at the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business.
“There are a lot of people who are die-hard fans and just want more,” he added during a recent interview with CBC News.
Amazon is also making its presence known on the gridiron. The stadium is entering its third season as the home of Thursday night NFL games.
Last season, Thursday Night Football averaged 11.86 million viewers, a year-over-year increase of 24 percent, according to Sports Media Watch.
Even regional sports networks are entering the world of subscription broadcasting.
“The name of the game is always growing and where Netflix and other platforms will be able to grow in the future is because of live games,” said Naraine.
In addition to the Ravens-Texans game, Netflix will also broadcast the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day.
That means Beyoncé won't be the only global superstar to grace the screen. Taylor Swift, who is dating Kansas City and Travis Kelce, has attended several of her concerts so far this year, and will be done with her Eras tour at Christmas.
The millions of Swifties who might be watching represent an extra incentive for Netflix to fix it, Naraine said.
“If feed instability happens when Patrick Mahomes on Christmas Day throws the ball into the end zone and we don't know if Travis Kelce catches it or not, that will be one of the death knells for Netflix's growth path going forward.”
